WR250X street wheels, rotors, sprockets, and tires

So when I bought the WR, it came with an aftermarket set of offroad wheels and tires mounted on the bike (SM Pro wheels, and Dunlop D606 knobby tires). I simply put the OEM wheels and tires in the basement to be able to swap back and forth between dirt and street riding. 

But when the previous owner bought the aftermarket dirt wheels, he bought them without brake rotors (to save himself a few bucks, I suppose).  That meant I would have to transfer the brake discs back and forth between wheelsets. Screw that.  I knew right away that I would just be ordering an extra set of rotors.

I finally ordered a set of OEM rotors from RonAyers.com and received them just before Christmas. It was interesting to see that the new rotors were both stamped "Licensed by Galfer."  They set me back $200 for the pair, not a bad price at all for quality components.

The original wheels had the OEM rear sprocket attached.  Stock gearing on the WR250X is a 13-tooth up front, and a 42-tooth steel piece in the rear.  While I quite liked the 13/49 gearing used with the offroad wheels, it's hardly practical on the street --- not so bad around town, but horrible on the highway.  So, while ordering new brake rotors for the OEM wheels, I decided to get a nice set of 14/48 sprockets. I went with steel sprockets from SuperSprox (purchased from RockyMountainATV.com).

I got around to mounting the new rotors and rear sprocket this past week... it's been a long winter and I'm waiting for spring. I also took the time to clean and polish the wheels up, including the spokes. Also used a bit of Armor All tire foam and cleaned up the rubber. All ready for the road, now.... just gotta get rid of all this snow.

OEM brake rotors made by Galfer

14/48 front and rear SuperSprox sprocket set (steel)

7 Neutron brand oil filters

spare Kenda heavy duty 18" tube

Before installing the new rotors and sprocket, I went to a

local fastener supply store and picked up a bunch of good quality

stainless steel Allen-head bolts and some nylon lock nuts. Using

nice hardware to mount the new parts is well worth a few extra dollars.

New rotors and rear sprocket mounted.

These are the original Bridgestone Battlax BT-090 tires.

The have about a thousand miles on them.

Cuba vacation

Just got home from a week-long vacation in Cuba. Spent most of the time on the beach at the resort, but also ventured off the resort grounds for 2 days and explored some local villages, and the nearby city of Holguin.  Lots of old American cars, and plenty of bikes you don't see in Canada or the US.

What a terrific week. The resort was awesome in every way, the weather was great, and the people of Cuba are absolutely the nicest folks you'll ever meet. I plan on going back, but for 2 weeks next time!

'58 Opel Rekord

Lada 6-door stretch limousine hack job

off-roading with a rented Jilan 50cc scooter

The scooter rental cost $30 for the day

early 50's Dodge

a proud Cuban washing his pristine Suzuki GN125

I chatted with these guys as they fixed a leaky master brake cylinder

on this '52 Chev

Lots of Russian Lada vehicles, including the 4x4 Niva

an old BMW air head hack

Our taxi for the day was this '59 Plymouth. The original V8

engine died many years ago, and was retrofit with a 2.0 Litre diesel

 engine and gearbox from a Mistubishi pick-up truck. 

Lifan LF125F   - I believe these are a Chinese brand

Lots of horse-powered vehicles

My 9-year-old daughter was at the controls on some rural roads near the resort.

Of course, when in Cuba, just wear a poorly fitting helmet, shorts, and sneakers.

I also brought home some Cohiba Robusto cigars

 ... and some Montecristo IV

Winter upgrades for the WR

Well, it's winter: time for upgrades. When I bought the WR, it came with two sets of rims & tires. The aftermarket dirt wheels were mounted on the bike, and I put the OEM street wheels in the basement. When the previous owner bought the dirt wheels, he transferred the OEM brake rotors onto the new rims, and he bought and aftermarket 13/49 Renthal sprocket set and a 520 RK chain.  Well, I don't plan on swapping the rotors back and forth between wheel sets, so I ordered a new set of OEM rotors to bolt onto the OEM rims. I also decided to ditch the 13/42 OEM sprockets for the OEM rims, so I ordered a set of 14/48 Supersprox sprockets.

I also got 7 oil filters, and a Kenda 2.5mm Heavy Duty butyl rubber 100/100-18 tube as a spare for the rear aftermarket dirt rim. I always like to have a spare tube on hand. I've got a selection of 17" and 21" .... I just didn't have a spare 18" on hand.

Finally, I picked up a brand new pair of side panels, still sealed in the factory packaging. Yes, genuine Yamaha OEM pieces, in the factory WRX black. I didn't need these, but I couldn't pass them up: $36 shipped for the pair!!! That was a steal. For that price, I just wanted to have them set aside as spares.

These are the OEM wheels. There were no brake rotors 

mounted on them, and I don't plan on using the OEM sprockets.

The stock gearing is 13/42 but my new Superspox gearing is 14/48.

The sprockets, oil filters, and tube came from RockyMountainATV.com for $101.

The brake rotors are from RonAyers.com and cost $203.

Interestingly, the OEM rotors are both stamped "Licensed by Galfer" 

 My next order for the WR will include a Safari fuel tank, and Wolfman side racks, and a muffler re-packing kit.  The DR will also need a few things (ex: new battery for sure).

Ditch work to ride, again!

I took Monday off to ride with some fellow ADV'ers, and the awesome weather continued. So after not being able to concentrate at work on Tuesday because I was distracted by the nice weather, I just had to go riding on Wednesday. Not quite as sunny, but still very mild for November. It reached 15 Celsius. 

John  borrowed my motorcycle trailer for a few hours on Tuesday to haul his KTM 690 to his winter storage place. Then when he was dropping off the trailer, I convinced him to ditch work the next day and come riding with me.

John: But I just put my bike away for the winter!

Me: So what!  Take my DR. I want to ride the WR, and my DR has just been parked for over a week now. 

With that, a plan was hatched. He showed up at my place the next morning. We suited up and rode to Starbucks for a proper start to the day. We went to our usual riding location for some fast gravel roads: Tatlock Rd, California Rd, Darling Rd, Old Almonte Rd, Old Perth Rd, and a few others. Lunch in our favourite place: the home style restaurant in White River. 

As we arrived for coffee, a fellow ADV'er spotted us and stopped 

to say hello. We chatted for a bit and then he was heading off to work.

John getting rid of his coffee.

What a gorgeous day.

Tatlock quarry road was blocked off  just a 1/4 mile down the road

so we turned back and went exploring off a nearby trail 

Found and abandoned house and a foundation of a small outbuilding

spotted what looked to be a bicycle buried in the tall grass

appeared to have been left in the grass for at least 5 years

The last 2 minutes is close to the Tatlock mine quarry gate

6th Concession Rd (a trail, really, not a road) that leads to an abandoned house in the woods.

Ditch work to ride

Couldn't help but take advantage of this terrific fall weather, so I took a day off work to go riding with some fellow inmates from ADVRider. Denis organized the ride and proposed a route which involved some gravel roads in the Gatineau Park area.  The day was sunny and 14 Celcius.  Not really shorts and t-shirt weather, but for this time of the year it was a real treat from Mother Nature.

This was my first real ride on the new WR. Until this ride, I only rode it to work a couple of times. She's light and nimble, and the fuel injection works flawlessly. With 13/49 gearing, though, she's a little high strung on the highway -- not that we rode much on the highway, but let's just say the engine sings a little when you're doing 100 Km/h. But she's very willing to take it.

252 Kms. About 1/2 paved roads, 1/2 gravel roads

J-C's KLX250

Stopped to air down the tires a bit

Denis's KLX250S

Stopped for lunch at Subway, near Gracefield, QC

This was the first real run I did with the WR since I bought it last week.

Stopped to see some horses shortly after lunch.

Juame's recent purchase - an '03 KTM 640 Adventure

(a.k.a. The Paint Shaker). It's like the Buick Enclave of dirt bikes: powerful, comfortable, beautiful suspension, a great all-rounder. But this model's reputation for having lots of engine vibrations is quite true and accurate. Awesome machine, vibrations and all. He bought it earlier this summer but I hadn't seen him since then.

Stopping to empty our bladders on the ride home.

And some video footage from the day's ride